Ireland 20 Wallabies 16: Frustration abounds as referee Pascal Gauzere the centre of attention in Sydney

YOU want to talk about a brilliant Test series between two sides who swung punches at each other to the last second. For three weeks straight. But inevitably the man with the whistle intervenes.

David Pocock was in the referee’s ear for most of the night seeking explanations.

YOU don’t want to write about referees. You really don’t.

​Mostly​ it is​ really, really boring.

You want to talk about a brilliant Test series between two sides who swung punches at each other to the last second of the 12th round. For three weeks straight.

You want to admire the ruthless power of Ireland’s forwards and the mind of Johnny Sexton that is so dastardly he could step into a Bond movie​ on Monday​.

David Pocock was in the referee’s ear for most of the night seeking explanations.

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You want to give a thumbs up to the Wallabies, who only a year ago were ​battling​ to beat Italy but have shown against the world no.2 side - sadly in patches - that they’re a side worth believing in.

You want to sing from the rooftops that Test rugby, when played at this level of gripping intensity, is a product that can warm the heart and make it pump bloody fast at the same time.

You want to put up high that little old rugby - the punching bag of Australian sport - broke the crowd record at Allianz Stadium with 44,085.

​Rugby ​held the old record, too.

You want to throw both coaches some praise for an absorbing three-week chess match, between two teams who can feel good about their paths to the World Cup.

You want to balance the fact that Australia’s June form ​in 2018 ​is ​much improved with the fact there are still ​clear ​problems to fix. And debate who can do that job ​and how they’ll do it ​when the All Blacks arrive next month.

But then you are stand amid 44,000 people at Allianz Stadium after the siren, and every single soul at the sold-out venue is waiting for a Television Match Official to spit out some box-ticking ​​calculation to determine if the game is over or not.

Israel Folau has to cool his heels on the sidelines. Picture: Getty.

And you wonder how it got to that point.

Both in this game, and THE game.

In this game it was, unfortunately, all-but decided by a referee call. And a poor one.

Not the last one but the one two minutes​ earlier, ​when ​Tolu Latu latched onto an Irish ball runner and looked to have won a penalty for holding on. Instead, French referee Pascal Gauzere penalised the reserve Aussie hooker and Sexton slotted the kick.

Sexton wore the Mr Iceman badge - there’s your Bond villain - that Bernard Foley had failed to pin on himself with a 67th minute, go-ahead attempt.

But Latu’s ‘offence’ wasn’t the only sketchy call that went against the Wallabies. Michael Cheika was bouncing off the walls with rage with some of the calls of Gauzere, and in a post-match interview you could literally see his mind ticking over about how he could stay away from a big fine with his words.

Perhaps the most questionable call was Israel Folau’s yellow card before halftime, when he made incidental contact in the air with Irish skipper Peter O’Mahony when he ​was lifted dangerously into the air to catch a kick-off.​

France had a tough time of it in New Zealand. Picture: AFP.

He landed on his shoulders - and left the game - but it was pointed out that Folau was lucky O’Mahony hadn’t twisted in the air a few more inches and landed on his head. Folau ​would ​have got a red card.

Sounds ridiculous but that’s the weird place rugby has taken itself this June.

Amazingly, at a time when the quality of ​global ​rugby is extremely high, Test matches in Australia and New Zealand have been majorly impacted by refereeing issues. Via both inconsistency and via the rigidity of a law book as applied by match officials - TMO included - who​ too often have the match assessor in mind, not the players and the paying public.

The French will head back home from New Zealand feeling absolutely dudded, in all three Test matches. The All Blacks got the rub of more greens than Augusta, and each impacted the ability of a plucky France side to make a fair fight.

Australia and Ireland had mostly not let refereeing get in the way, and decided the series between themselves in the first two Tests. Albeit with a few yellows and endless “check, check” calls.

Yes, the officials guys bust their guts too and try their best to facilitate a thrilling Test match. They are vital to the game.

But fans just hope in a climate where referee bosses want their whistle men to ref to the last cross on the last letter of the last law, that the big calls in the dying moments are right too.

Johnny Sexton’s influence on the series was undeniable. Picture: getty.

Because that was a brilliant, absorbing Test series.

No-one wants to talk about referees.